Apparantly, this C&C of mine never got posted in the first place... I'll
try again, and maybe it'll go through this time. Normally, I would have
just sent this to the author, but considering that it's my first C&C, I
thought I would try to send it to the entire list again. n.n Thanks for
putting up with me and it, in any case. >;)

*begin MST!*


[Adam walks out into the spotlight.]

Adam: Hey, everyone! This is my first MST-type C&C, so bear with me whi-

[Misaki suddenly jumps up next to Adam.]

Misaki: Konnichiwa, Adam-san! n.n

Adam: Misaki? O.o What are -you- doing here?

Misaki: Well, at first I was just coming to see how you were progressing
on that fanfic of yours, but when I saw that you were C&Cing, I decided to
help out! n.n

Adam: [groan] Terrific...

Misaki: [scowl] Look, just get on with it, ok?

Adam: Fine, fine...

On Fri, 24 Oct 1997, Raymond Haney wrote:

        Hey, would you guys like it better if I put whose talent it is in
the subject or title line?

Adam: It would be helpful, if you would. n.n
 

Ray "The Texas Ryoga" Haney

Adam: "The Texas Ryouga"? What's -that- supposed to mean?

Misaki: [shrug] Beats me. Let's just keep going...

	Ranma Saotome woke up and found his father missing. As the dark haired
martial artist blearily rubbed the sleep out of his blue eyes, he scanned
the room and took in Genma's missing form and his already wrapped and stowed
futon. He groaned. The old man had done it again.

Adam: Umm... how could he take in Genma's form if it wasn't there?

Misaki: Artistic liscence?

Adam: Umm... no.

	"Oh man, " Ranma muttered in irritation, "this is the third time
this week
he's skipped out on morning practice. Where the heck has he been going?"
Ranma continued to mutter and wonder as he slowly gathered himself together
to go to school. After a brief workout by himself and a quick breakfast, he
headed out the door and started his morning fighting with Akane. After their
standard running argument and showing up just in time,

Misaki: Umm... no offense, Ray-san, but that last sentence is just... odd.
n_n;

the heir to the
Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts let himself become immersed in
what was, for him anyway, a normal day.
	After two legitimate duels with Kuno and Ryoga, fighting seven opponents
who he barely registered as worth his time, fending off the advances of
Shampoo, and seventeen thousand, five hundred and forty-two dollars worth of
structural damage to nearby buildings, (the rumor that several insurance
companies had a contract on Ranma was purely fictitious.... really)

Adam: Oh, of course not. n_n;

Ranma
headed for home after a largely uneventful day. After all, he mused to
himself, no major demons were unleashed, no horrible curses bestowed, and
he'd even managed to get through a day without seeing Happosai. Yet
throughout the day, ever present and bubbling at the back of his mind, was
the simple question of where had his father gone?

Adam: Careful with your question marks, Ray... they can sneak into the
darndest places. I would suggest re-writing that sentence also...

Ranma resolved to find out.
	He sent Akane ahead while he went around to various places and asked if
anyone had seen his old man. The Cat Cafe? No. The Ucchan? No. Terry's
Teriyaki Take-out? Not since last week, and remind him of his tab, okay?

Misaki: [cheerfully] Remember your tab, Ranma!

Adam: ... -.-

Shin's dojo? No. Master Kim's? No. After hitting all the dojo's,
restaurants, and even the few restaurant/dojo's (the service at King's
Combat Diner has to be experienced to be explained, mused Ranma) Ranma was
no closer, in fact, now a little farther from finding out where his father
had been disappearing to. Steering for home, he decided he'd just have to
find out straight from the panda's mouth, or sign, or whatever it took.

Adam: This whole section just sounds icky... might want to re-structure it
to be a bit more clear... I would also take out the park in parentheses.

	Unfortunately, the Tendo dojo held no answers for him. Apparently his
father had come in and departed again soon after. The only sign that he'd
been there was that he'd apparently changed clothes and had left his dirty
gi and headrag lying on the floor. Ranma examined the two curiously. The gi
had what appeared to be ash and soot on it and smelled very smoky.

Adam: Hmm... either he went to a smoking lounge or someone tried to make
panda jerky out of him...

Misaki: ... -.- Adam-kun, that's stupid.

The
headrag was still damp with sweat and looked as if it had been soaked clean
through. Ranma's curiosity was growing by leaps and bounds. He decided to
wait his father out, and, the next time he left, he would follow him. Ash
and soot?


*	*	*	*

	Genma Saotome stealthily rose from his futon in the dark of pre-dawn. He
knew that he had come in late, the previous evening. He knew that Ranma was
curious as to what he was doing, however, he also knew that he was a high
enough master of martial arts 

Adam: O_O Genma's getting high!

Misaki: [whacks Adam] Baka! It means that he's skilled!

Adam: [whimpers] Gomen, gomen...

that he could sneak out without making a
sound. Were Ranma asleep, he would never have known his father had awoken
and left. Of course, Ranma wasn't asleep.

Misaki: Maybe he should take some NyQuil?

	He lay awake, feigning his snoring and tossing with an Oscar winning
performance.

Adam: Erm... last time I heard, you had to do a bit more than sleeping to
get an Oscar...

Misaki: Since when, Adam-kun? [seductive wink]

Adam: O_O

But the instant Genma departed the room, he flipped up and
began to pad after him. Through the halls of the Tendo dojo, out the main
gate and through the streets of Tokyo, Genma Saotome never realized he left
a ghostly trail. Ranma watched from shadows and followed from rooftops. The
two men moved at a mile eating pace, one that only a martial artist of the
Saotome school of Anything Goes Martial Arts could have possibly been able
to keep.

Misaki: But what did they eat a mile -of-?

[Adam rolls his eyes, and mouths, "Why me?"]

Misaki: I saw that!

Adam: Eep! o_o

Finally, after leaving Tokyo and seeing the first vestiges of dawn
rise through the sky, Genma apparently arrived at his destination.

Misaki: McDonald's?

Adam: Taco Bell?

Misaki: Pizza Hut?

Adam: Hooters?

Misaki: [WHAP!] Hentai! O_o

Adam: Oww... @_@;

	Ranma stood in front of a large sign in confusion. He had just witnessed
his father enter the doors just past the sign after clasping his hands and
bowing his head.

Adam: Wait, did Ranma clasps his hands and bow his head, or Genma?

[Adam takes out a giant pair of scissors and snips away part of the fic.]

Misaki: Hey! What'd you do that part?

Adam: Well, there was nothing for us to make fu - er... critique in that
part.

Misaki: [smiling cheerfuly] Oh, ok, then! n.n

	He was immediately hit by a wall of heat. He could hear a clanging noise,
like steel on steel.

Adam: Right here, I'd just like to point out the problem you seem to be
having with tabs... just try to fix it, ok, Ray? n.n

[snip!]

Ranma could only gape, to his eyes his father looked like some sort of
automaton, 
or some ancient, legendary smith. He stood in front of the forge, tirelessly
pounding with his hammer, like some kind of immortal being, crafting the
world.

Adam: I didn't think Genma was -that- old... O.o

"Well, if your son is here, I suppose he can take over the crank work."

Misaki: Crank work? I thought he was bellowing?

Adam: Misaki... somehow that sounded... unclean. -.-

Misaki: Hentai. -.-

Genma nodded and Nobunga grinned. "Good, I always hated pumping bellows,
anyway. Here, lad,"

Adam: It's a bit hard to figure out who said this one...

[snip!]

	* tap tap whack *
	"So is this where you've been going every morning? And why are you hitting
the anvil like that?"
	"Well," Genma replied, still striking with that peculiar triple rhythm. "I
hit the anvil twice to allow the hammer to cool in between strikes at the
hot metal. And yes, I've been coming here every morning to fold the steel."

Misaki: Do they actually do that, or are you just guessing? :)

[snip!]

	Genma grunted as he hammered, "Well, let me see where to start
with these
answers. I learned the art of the forge before I studied with Master
Happosai. Tokugawa and I were students together, many years ago. I never
told you of any of this because I didn't want it to distract you from your
training. Also, I never really figured it to be any of your business, I
wanted to keep this as a hidden talent of mine. And," Genma paused and
thrust the metal into the forge. After another minute, he pulled the glowing
mass of metal out. "What does it look like, boy? We're making a sword."

Adam: I thought Anything Goes was unarmed?

[snip]

	Genma levelly stared at him and actually stopped swinging his hammer. The
sudden silence was powerful. "Who do you think, boy? When I crafted that
blade for your mother, I poured my soul into it. It was a part of me, the
only way I could make it was to place as much love into the blade as I felt
for her." Genma turned his head, hammer lowering now to the ground. "That's
why I never followed the path of craft my boy. I could never create anything
of quality unless I poured a part of myself into it. I couldn't do that and
see some stranger with the end product. I once thought that your mother was
the only person I loved enough to be able to give her a part of my soul. But
lately, I've found that there is somebody else who I not only care for, but
who I owe. Someone who's life has been hardship, largely because of me. So I
now find myself in front of a forge that I never thought I'd be in front of
again, placing a bit of me into something that I'm going to give to someone
else. So, again, who do you think this is for boy?"
	Ranma swallowed hard, he'd never really thought that his father ever
thought like this. "This blade is.... for me?"

Adam: [fwap!] No, you egocentric idiot, it's for Soun! Why would I ever
make something for -you-?

Misaki: [bap!] Adam! Stop that, you're ruining the mood!

Adam: ...

[snip!]

carrying the sword with the set of tongs. Once more, he fired off a
departing comment, "About five weeks, old friend. I'll give you a call when
it's finished!"

But I thought he said it was done?

	Genma waved a hand and turned to his son. His face was blank and under
control, the emotions that he had shown earlier hidden. "Let's go son."
	Ranma looked back and slowly stored his emotions. He knew he would remember
this moment, replay it in his mind and treasure it for the rest of his life.
That was enough for him. "O.K. pop."

Misaki: [sniffling] Wah... that was so... *sniff* emotional... ;.;

Adam: z.z

Misaki: [whap!] Baka! Wake up!

(No offense, by the way... I'm just kidding. >;)

Phew! I never realized how time-consuming it is to write one of these!

All in all: I liked it a lot, but it could use a bit of polishing. The
story and writing were great, though! Genuine WAFF. :)


"Common Sense is what tells you that the Earth is flat."
Adam Conover
dconover@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~dconover/main.html
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